Review of Belfast

Nice, beautiful-to-look-at coming of age movie by Kenneth Branagh that is apparently autobiographical. Young Buddy is growing up at the start of the troubles - the first scene takes place in August 1969, in an idyllic mixed working class Belfast neighbourhood, where Catholics and Protestants live happily together. Perhaps it's too romanticised...I'm sure everyone who was there has their own version of what this experience was like. Certainly we don't see any sign of the symbols of sectarianism, no union flags or tricolours, no Orange lodges...even the murals on the gable ends of terraces are harmless.

But then we see things quickly slide into pogroms and burning-out of Catholics from the Protestant streets, and vigilantes and barricades - though only in a Protestant street. In fact, Catholics are largely absent from the story, except in the imaginations and conversations of the Protestant characters, especially the ones from the central family. 

One thing struck me - the family, especially the mum and the dad, and some of the other characters including the local Protestant thug-gangster - are all really gorgeous to look at. Funny how striking that is, because almost everyone in documentary footage from this period looks so ugly.

Watched in the Middle Floor at Springhill, via usb stick and informal distribution...one consequence of this was odd melting transitions between some scenes, because the video player couldn't quite cope. It made it even more arty.